Saint Arnold begins serving lunch with the taps open

Or the pasta, or any of the other dishes prepared by chef Ryan Savoie and his two-man crew at Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewing Co. The craft brewery begins weekday lunch service Wednesday.

It’s the latest in a series of expansions made possible by the brewery’s 2010 move into a renovated warehouse just off Interstate 10 with downtown views. The bigger space allowed, primarily, Saint Arnold to add equipment to make and sell more beer. But owner Brock Wagner also carved out a barrel-storage area for aging beers and added weekday-afternoon versions of the already popular Saturday tours.

The tours will continue. Wagner thinks adding a kitchen will bring even more crowds, not just walk-in traffic but also companies looking to host an outing for employees.

“I expect that during the summer and over the holidays it will be a zoo,” Wagner said during a recent soft opening for about 50 investors and invited guests.

Savoie, cook Andrew Weigel and steward Josh Nelson served up two pieces of fried chicken with an impressively sized wedge salad, with sides of corn and an amazing sweet potato. The rotating menus will be posted at saintarnold.com and the $17.55 price ($19 after tax) will include complimentary beer fresh from the taps. Iced tea is available for $1.

Note: This is an abbreviated version of the story that appears on page 2 of today’s Flavor section. Read the full story there or click this link.

DETAILS

What’s cooking: A different meal will be served each day from a rotating menu posted on the brewery’s website.

Serving hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

Cost: Main course and complimentary draft beer, $19 after tax; tipping not allowed.